Pam’s Woods Preserve: A Legacy of Lifelong Love for the Land

Some places carry the unmistakable imprint of the people who loved them most. The newly conserved Pam’s Woods Preserve, protected by the Thousand Islands Land Trust (TILT) in 2026 in the Town of Brownville, is one of those places—a forest shaped by decades of quiet stewardship, deep respect for nature, and an enduring friendship.

For more than fifty years, the property belonged to Pamela Audo, a lifelong lover of the outdoors whose connection to the land began early. Growing up in Chaumont, NY, and graduating from Lyme Central School, she developed a love for wild places, nurtured through Girl Scouts and trips to the Adirondacks. At the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, NY, with her close friend and partner, Maria Argyros—Pam studied flute and Maria studied voice. Though their lives eventually led them to the grander audiences of New York City, the pull of the woods always brought them back.

In 1972, Pam purchased the property that would become known as Pam’s Woods and embraced a remarkably self-sufficient and rugged lifestyle. For many years, she lived on the land without electricity or running water, building and repairing much of what she needed herself and even studying masonry to construct parts of the structure in which she lived. To Pam, the forest was not something to exploit, but something to care for and experience fully and authentically.

One of her greatest passions was making maple syrup. Each spring, she tapped the towering sugar maples rooted in the limestone soils, known for especially sweet sap. Collecting it the old-fashioned way, she hauled buckets through the woods with her tractor and boiled it over a wood fire fueled by trees from the land. Profit was never her goal; on visits to Maria in New York City, she sometimes sold small bottles for just a few dollars, simply so others could experience the delicacy of real New York maple syrup.

The land itself is as remarkable as the woman who cared for it. Pam’s Woods contains a rare mosaic of habitats, including mature maple and hemlock forests, limestone outcrops reminiscent of the region’s unique alvar landscapes, and pockets of saturated white swamp oak forest. These habitats provide important refuge for wildlife in a region otherwise dominated by agricultural fields. The property also lies between the Chaumont Barrens Nature Preserve and the Perch River Wildlife Management Area, strengthening a corridor of protected lands where wildlife can move and thrive.

In her later years, Pam began exploring ways to permanently protect the property. Tragically, she passed away while trying to rescue an animal from a roadway—an act that reflected the compassion that defined her life. After her passing, Maria valiantly carried forward Pam’s vision, as she knew Pam would have wanted.

Having shared decades of friendship, music, and summers on the land, she understood her deep respect for the environment and wildlife, and her strong desire to help preserve what she cherished most.

“Pam always gave back to nature,” Maria reflected. “Nature gave so much to her, and she returned that gift every day through the way she lived.”

Thanks to Maria’s determination, Pam’s Woods is now permanently protected.

Plans for a future trail system will allow visitors to experience the quiet beauty of the forest Pam loved so deeply. In preserving Pam’s Woods, TILT has protected more than just land; it has preserved the legacy of a woman whose life was rooted in the forest she called home.

By Spencer Busler

Spencer J. Busler joined TILT in 2016 as Director of Land Conservation and as of 2025 he was appointed TILT's Associate Director. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources Management from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry as well as a master’s degree in Water and Wetland Resource Studies from the same institution. Previous to TILT, he worked along the St. Lawrence with the US Fish & Wildlife Service and Lafave, White & McGivern, L.S., P.C.  He grew up in Theresa and spent the vast majority of his childhood summers on the numerous waterbodies of the Indian River Lakes chain where he developed his deep appreciation for our natural surroundings.